Whistleblower Badjie subject of gov’t investigation

Bubacarr
Badjie, legal adviser of the State Intelligence Services (SIS) who blew the
whistle over the alleged lack of any serious reforms taking place at the agency
in post-Jammeh Gambia, is the subject of latest investigations by The Gambia
government.

Mr
Badjie had been served with an interdiction notice from the Personnel
Management Office (PMO), notifying him of his suspension over violation of the
ethics of his job at the agency. Alleged
violation is the leaking of official government correspondences to Freedom
Newspaper Online.

The
interdiction notice was issued following a complaint by the SIS director
general Ousman Sowe to the PMO that Badjie was the one who leaked a petition to
the online newspaper even before the President had the chance to see and
respond to the petition which was written by Badjie himself.

Under
the agency’s service regulations, DG Sowe cannot fire Mr Badjie as head of a
department but could seek an interdiction from the PMO, which came easily after
the complaint last week.

But
Badjie vehemently denied leaking the petition to the online paper, saying he
would “surely be vindicated” after the investigations are completed.

As
part of the investigations, journalist Sanna Camara, author of the story from
petition published in The Point last week, was summoned by the CID officers at
Kairaba Station Police on Saturday afternoon to “clarify” his role in the
leaking of the petition to Freedom Newspaper.

Mr
Camara in his statement at the police denied having anything to do with Freedom
Newspaper.

Meanwhile,
Badjie maintained that he is subject of witch-hunt by the head of the agency
who he accused of being unwilling to implement reforms recommended by the new
government and specially reluctant to hand over all suspects in the murder of
Solo Sandeng.

However,
the agency reacted to the allegation, describing Badjie as a “renegade officer”
whose allegations constitute violations of official secret.

Badjie
was picked up by officers of the Criminal Investigations Department after he
was served with the interdiction letter at around 7pm last Friday.

He
was initially to be arrested by the special operations unit personnel of the
SIS but he refused, saying he would not subject himself to arrest by “agents
whose hands are tainted with blood of innocent Gambians”.

He
opted to be arrested by the police instead and it was the police who eventually
arrested him and took him to Kairaba Station.